And the team's name is ... Toros
Austin's D-League franchise unveils logo and colors

By Andre' Shannon

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Thursday, August 11, 2005

With music blaring and flashy lighting circling the room, the leaders of the Austin's new professional basketball team pulled a string and unveiled their franchise's name -- the Austin Toros.

The logo for the new NBA Development League team features a Toro with a basketball and the state of Texas serving as the backdrop. Game uniforms, featuring the team nickname on home jerseys and the city name on road uniforms, will bear team colors of blue, gold and red.

"We are very excited and proud to unveil the Toros' identity in the Austin market," team president Mike Berry said. "The Toro is a powerful icon synonymous with Central Texas and it is only fitting to pair it with the state outline as we make our home downtown, in the capital city of Texas."

The logo brings to mind the capital city's other bovine mascot (Bevo), and the mascot was designed to reflect Austin's diverse makeup and the international appeal of basketball.

But team owner David Kahn pointed out a major distinction between his logo and that of the University of Texas.

"The horns are down," he said. "We were very respectful that the horns not be up. We never wanted it to be felt that we were treading into anybody's territory."

Austin will be the first NBA-associated and development league team to have a nickname of Spanish origin. Kahn said a lot of thought went into deciding on the final name and the local music scene was explored as another possible naming avenue, but the bull won out.

"Picking the name here was hard because of the dynamic feel of the city," he said. "I'm really proud of the name, I think it speaks of the community here, it's about Austin and it's about basketball and bulls and it just speaks of more than just one thing."

The season begins Nov. 26. The team will play its games in the Austin Convention Center.